“I believe that the foundation for a Pac-12 championship has been laid at UCLA, and one thing that Bruin fans can for sure get behind is that Coach (Chip) Kelly and his staff will stay that course,” Murphy wrote on Twitter. “However, moving forward, I will be transferring to another university to finish out the last year of my college football career.”

Murphy suffered two season-ending injuries at Texas Tech and then missed six games at UCLA due to a meniscus injury, prompting his petition for a sixth year. He started the first four games of the year for the Bruins before suffering the cartilage injury against Colorado and returned for the final two games, coming off the bench to rotate in at right guard and tackle.

Murphy’s transfer was a major win for UCLA last summer when the Bruins were desperate for offensive linemen after losing three to the NFL, including first-round draft pick Kolton Miller and two-year starting center Scott Quessenberry. But less than a year later, UCLA has a wealth of offensive line experience, even with Murphy’s departure.

The Bruins could return its entire starting offensive line if redshirt junior Andre James passes on the NFL. The deadline for non-seniors to declare is Jan. 14. Redshirt sophomore Michael Alves, junior Boss Tagaloa, freshman Christaphany Murray and redshirt sophomore Jake Burton are all expected to return. The five starters have a combined 90 career starts at offensive line, led by 32 from James.

Redshirt junior Josh Wariboko-Alali, freshmen Alec Anderson and Jon Gaines, and redshirt freshman Sam Marrazzo rounded out the rotation off the bench last year. The Bruins also have a verbal commitment from San Juan Hills offensive tackle Sean Rhyan, a highly touted four-star recruit, according to the 247Sports composite. Recruits can sign binding national letters of intent as early as Dec. 19, the first day of the early signing period.

Thuc Nhi Nguyen has covered UCLA for the Southern California News Group since 2016. A proud Seattle native, she majored in journalism and mathematics at the University of Washington. She likes graphs, animated GIFs and superheroes.